Friction-clutch.



. Patented May l4, 190i.- H. A. HECKER.

FRICTION CLUTCH (Application filed July 10, 1899.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGO A. HECKER, OF BELLEVUE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR TO THE F. M. WATKINSCOMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

FRICTION-CLUTCH.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 674,164, dated May 14,1901. Application filed July 10, 1899. Serial No. 723,325. (ModeL) Toall whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGO A. HECKER, a citizen of the United States,residing in Bellevue, in the county of Campbell, State of Kentucky, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Friction-Clutches, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of thisspecification.

My invention relates to clutches for coupling together shafts andpulleys rotating at a high speed; and it consists of a certain novelconstruction and arrangement of parts, to he hereinafter particularlypointed out and claimed, whereby a simple and extremely durable clutchis provided and which may be readily and easily coupled by frictionalcontact at a very high rate of speed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-section of pulleys andshaft provided with my clutch mechanism. Fig. 2 is a side View in detailof one of the friction-shoes.

A is a shaft mounted in suitable journalbearings a a on the standards MM. This shaft is provided with a central bore 6 of suit able depth,orthe shaft may be hollow throughout.

J is the fixed pulley, and L the loose pulley, mounted on shaft A. Fixedto the shaft A, with its periphery within the rim of the loose pulley L,is the frame or flanged wheel K. Fitted between the flanges of the wheelK on opposite sides are thesegment-shoes H H, provided with studs -F F,which pass through openings 10 in the rim of the wheel K and areprovided with collars o 0, between which collars and the wheel-rimcoiled springs G G bear to keep the shoes H H in close contact with thewheel K. The inner ends of these two studs F F are provided with centralconical recesses cl d, withinwhich the rounded outer ends of thetoggle-arms D E hear. The recesses will be comparatively deep, so as toretain the ends of the togglearms in place when moved to an angular position by the sliding rod, and thus avoid the use of small pins or otherdevices for holding the parts together.

Fitted within the bore b in the drivingshaft A is a rod B, provided witha handle C.

coupling, as described.

' The inner end of this rod B is provided with an opening 6, withinwhich opening the rounded inner ends of the toggle-arms D E abut. Whenthe rod B is drawn out to straighten the toggle-arms D E, thesegment-shoes H H will'be pushed out against the inner surface of therim of the pulley L. For the purpose of adjusting the amount of thispressure and taking up the wear one of the toggle-arms, as E, is made intwo partsE E, the one threaded within the other. N ow'when the rod B ispushed in it will carry with it the inner ends of the toggle-arms andrelieve at once the pressure on the springs G Ganrmit them to draw awaythe shoes from the rim of the pulley L, and thus disconnect it. In orderto allow this movement of the toggle-arms D E, I form slots 0 O ofsuitable length in the shaft A and N N in the hub of the flanged wheelK.

The operation I believe will be sufliciently clear from the abovedescription. When the sliding rod B is drawn out, as shown in Fig. 1,the pulley L will be coupled to the shaft and pulley J; but the momentthe rodBis pushed in the springs will act against the collars c and theshoes H H will thereby be withdrawn from the rim of pulley L, thusdisconnecting the same.

The abutting ends of the toggle not being hinged together, but merelyforming a loose joint held by the rod B, it will be evident thattoregulate the pressure and to take up wear only one point of adjustmentis necessary, which I provide by an ordinary threaded In thusconstructing the parts of my clutch the joints or connections betweenthe toggle-arms and the other parts are formed Without the use of smallpins, thereby rendering the same exceedingly durable. The springs G Galso serve to hold or retain the parts intact during the movement of thetoggle-arms.

Of course it will be evident that the position of the parts maybereversed or changed without in any way departing from my invention.The pulley L may be the driving and pulley J the driven member, or theymay be mounted on separate shafts. The flanged wheel K is only intendedas a guide for the shoes H, and evidently any guide for the shoes couldbe employed without departing from my invention, while many changes ofposition will also readily suggest themselves to the mechanic.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

In a friction-clutch, the combination of a rotating shaft provided witha central bore and slots 0 O, a loose pulley mounted thereon, a slidingrod in said bore having an opening e, a shoe-carrying frame or wheelhaving openings Ya Ya keyed to the shaft and running within the rim ofthe loose pulley, frictionshoes having studs passing through openings 7;and having comparatively deep recesses 61 in their inner ends adapted tosolely retain the outer ends of the herein-mentioned toggle-arms inplace during their movement by the sliding rod, springs normally to holdsaid shoes against the shoe-carrying frame and out of contact with theloose pulley, a pair of toggle-arms without pivots at their ends andhaving their outer ends loosely fitting and oscillating within therecesses in the studs and their inner ends passing through slots 0 0 andabutting loosely and oscillating within the opening 6 in the slidingrod, substantially as shown and described.

HUGO A. HEOKER.

Witnesses:

W. F. LOWE, W. I). JOHNSON.

